Napa Valley With Kids

Napa Valley State Park ~ California ~ August 1993

            Imagine if you will a few thousand scented acres of vineyards draped across the rolling hills of picturesque Napa Valley. Keep that imagery alive in your mind with graceful tree-lined drives, shady picnic sites, and impressive reconverted barns sheltering wine enthusiasts as they enjoy an idyllic afternoon. Complete this portrait with gleaming wood-paneled tasting rooms filled with knowledgeable adults sniffing and swirling and sipping fine wine to their hearts content. Sounds delightful, doesn’t it? Most people we know would not bring their young children to Napa Valley where the principal attractions are wineries. But we are not most people, and drag our kids we did to Napa Valley for a camping vacation. Our children were then and are still great travelers, mostly well-behaved, and inquisitive studies as well. We had always wanted to visit this part of California and absolutely adore wine. So we made our camping reservations for August in hopes of escaping the heat of our home-town. Our plan was to meander through the Napa Valley then head over to San Francisco for a brief visit to the City by the Bay.

            Lest you think that we are completely out of our minds, let me tell you that there is quite a bit to do with your children in this scenic valley. Bothe-Napa Valley Campground is located five miles north of St. Helena in the heart of the valley and offers camping, hiking, swimming, and horse-back riding amongst tall groves of fir-trees, madrone, and redwoods. This state park has terrific hiking trails for day-hikers and a beautiful campground to boot. It was here on a perfectly silent summer morning that our children spotted their first deer. Our kids were thrilled to see the three of them as they carefully wandered into our campsite while we quietly breakfasted. The hiking here is truly spectacular (though we did see signs of poison oak and/or poison ivy, but I can’t remember which is which!) Just be prepared to wear long pants and keep your little darlings on the trail to avoid the rash associated with either of these plants.

     After one particularly long and dusty hike, we headed to the showers to wash up. Showers and flush-toilets are a big deal to this camper especially when our kids were younger. The showers at Bothe-Napa State Park were tiny but efficient and as is usual at most campgrounds, they were crowded early in the morning and late in the evening. We thought a mid-day shower would be perfect so Jeff and Zach headed to the men’s showers while Erin and I headed into the ladies’. I was exhausted from our hike and hoping for a nice warm shower to soothe my aching body. I turned on the water and we jumped right in and screamed because … oh my goodness ~ it was FREEZING! I don’t mean a little bit cold but absolutely bone-chilling. We hustled through that shower as fast as we could, dried off, and dashed back to our campsite. I couldn’t figure out why the guys were taking so long until Jeff returned to tell us about their enjoyable shower with the warm spray that massaged and invigorated. Ugh. Erin and I were quite dismayed to find out that all of the hot water had been diverted to the opposite shower stalls. But this was a lesson learned for the remainder of the trip as we did not chance showering when the men’s showers were occupied.

            Along with the requisite visits to nearby wineries (and there are so many to choose from!) we visited Old Faithful Geyser of California, rode horses, hiked to waterfalls and hot springs, went antiquing, rented bikes, shopped through St. Helena and Calistoga, and sampled some of the most delicious food we’ve eaten anywhere. Our children enjoyed the tours we tried at Beringer, Sutter Home, Rutherford Hill, and V. Sattui Wineries. Beringer has one of the largest and most charming properties and a tasting room that should not be missed. The tour at Rutherford Hill involves cool wine caves that are interesting and distinctive. And V. Sattui is one of the best wineries in all of Napa Valley due to their accommodating staff and inviting picnic area. This winery is famous for their cool and shady grounds and can become quite crowded, so plan your visit accordingly. Their wines are also deliciously affordable gems that are available directly from the winery only. We truly appreciated the graciousness of our tour guides as they entertained all questions and comments from their younger audience members at every single winery. There are plenty of places to find tasty food throughout Napa and Sonoma but I’d like to give a shout-out to ‘Juanita-Juanita’ in Sonoma for some of the best Mexican food around. This cozy little jewel is located on Arnold Avenue in Sonoma, and if you’re lucky the wait staff will kick your butt at Trivial Pursuit. Don’t miss it!

            As an aside, we have visited Napa and Sonoma Valley several times since this trip and thoroughly enjoyed many more wineries than those listed above. You alone know your taste and should avail yourself of the ample resources available online or in travel guides specific to planning a wine-tasting tour. Love the wines ambiance at Ravenswood in Sonoma and Rombauer in Napa. We have enjoyed limo rides and hot-air balloon rides while sampling our way through the valley. The above-mentioned trip was a camping trip, but we have also stayed (sans children) at the Renaissance Lodge at Sonoma Resort and Spa, and the Napa Valley Marriot and found both to be tranquil resting places.

            For more help in planning your trip to Napa Valley, go to www.napavalley.com for a good sampling of information on lodging, wineries, and other things to do. For Napa-Bothe State Park, visit http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=477  to plan a camping vacation. Just over the hill from Napa is Sonoma Valley and their tourism website is located at www.sonomavalley.com. Again, there are so many wineries to visit, but I urge you to make a stop at V.Sattui for a nice lunch and great bottle of wine. You can research them ahead of time at www.vsattui.com.

Buon Appetito!

Deb :)